All Ashore That's A Goin'.....

Okay, so we've established that if you are a basement owner, water damage in some form is a 98% certainty.  So what do you do when it happens?  When I was a kid, we had a basement that flooded with nearly every rain, due in large part to a drain just outside the basement door that was perpetually clogged, despite our best efforts to keep it open.  When I stop to think of the molds and other wonderful substances that had to be growing as a result, and the sheer amount of it I must have inhaled., I'm sometimes amazed that I'm still here.

So your basement is flooded.  Congratulations.  You're now a member of the 98% club.  First thing you should do is shut off the electricity to your basement (well, actually the first thing you should do is stop any more water from coming in, but I assumed that was a given).  Now where was I?  Oh, yeah, electricity.  Shut it off.  Electricity and water do not mix.  At all.  Trust me on this.  Even if the power has been knocked out, you should still shut off the electricity.  Do you really want to be standing in six inches of water when the power comes surging back on?  I didn't think so.

You should then open all windows and doors to get as much air circulating as possible.  Sounds like a small gesture, but every little bit helps.

Use shop vacs or pumps to remove the excess water but, while time is of the essence, you don't want to pump the water out too fast.  Doing so will create uneven pressure on the walls, weakening them and making them prone to collapse. Which would of course, defeat the purpose.  Pump the water out at an average of about a foot a day.  Slow and steady are the keywords here.

You will also need to have an electrician check out your appliances and electrical system before further use.  Ditto for your HVAC setup.  Don't run anything until it's been gone over and approved.

Always remember the operative word in any water damage repair....."dry'.  You'll need to make sure all surfaces are thoroughly dried out before considering the repair complete.  Not dry means wet and wet means mold and mold is not good.

Hopefully, you'll be one of the 2% that never have to deal with this (like me, sorry about that!), but if you do, now you know how to handle it.  Good luck and God save the queen......